Sponsors are changing, but sponsorship isn’t – Pt. 1

Event apps are more than simply a digital replacement of a print program – they make content interactive thusly sponsors are now interactive. Following this logic methods of sponsorship are changing and the sponsorship professionals are changing, but not the idea of sponsorship itself. At the end of the day your sponsors want ROI that is not only quantitatively impressive but also qualitatively impressive that makes them more human to your attendees. This is what they are paying you for, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, significant or practical. Vokol can help you do this.

The whole gift basket concept involving over-the-top schmoozing is dead (Michael Scott may disagree with me here, but I’ll take my chances). This is what I mean by the concept of sponsorship isn’t changing itself – at the end of your day your sponsors want a strong ROI or increased brand affinity. The methodologies of achieving this ends have changed. Power suits, a dazzling smile and firm handshakes are quickly fading into the realm of clipping coupons in the daily newspaper. Your sponsors are becoming more and more practical and less and less plastic.

Presenting sponsor = wifi sponsor: Your title or presenting sponsor package needs to include covering the cost of the wifi at your conference. Your event app will be dead in the water without good wifi. On the main background page, surprise and delight your presenting sponsor with their logo saying they are covering the wifi as well as being the presenting sponsor. People will associate the sponsor with practicality and straight-forwardness – not schmoozy.

Attendees self-identify interests: Have your attendees self-identify what they are interested in that are sub-topics of the larger topic of the conference. You can get a pretty narrow list of someone at an education conference who not only interested in “tech in the classroom” but “tech in the classroom,” “girls in STEM” and “project-based learning.” These attendees are ultra-qualified leads for your sponsors and they will pay for them.

Practical sponsorships: There can only be one presenting sponsor, but there are so many practical expenses that sponsors can cover (charging station since people are using their mobile phones for the app, BPA free water bottles and water stations, etc). Again, practicality over schmoozy.